In my experience.. maybe this is different elsewhere... but I went to plenty of 18+ clubs in my teenage years, and wasn't carded. If it's a particularly large venue, and there is a huge crowd, they don't really have the time to card everyone. On the other hand, if it's a place that also serves alcohol (around here -- again, laws are different everywhere), they have to card you to see if you're 21, or they're fucked. So, I dunno, maybe just go and if they try to card you, say you didn't think to bring an ID, and they'll probably send you off. But I have a good feeling you'd get in.

I went to a similiar sized venue to see Earth and Richard Bishop and was turned away... £13 down the drain. So I'm kind of being wary here considering this show is £20 and they are less likely to let me in if I have to buy on the door.

I'm thinking about going to the Supersonic Festival, but I guess I'll wait and see how the line-up will develop. Of the confirmed artists this far, I've only heard Swans, James Blackshaw and Melt Banana, and that means that the GY!BE ATP line-up is a lot more interesting at the moment... but there I won't get to see Swans. Hmmm...

And now the album has leaked. I love it. It has a certain Angels of Light feel to it at times, but it's just as heavy and dark as you'd expect from Swans at this point. Almost every song is fantastic, too bad the album is so short. Anyway, could be album of the year for me at this point. So good.

I am an absolute novice in the world of Swans, having heard only White Light from the Mouth of Infinity. What should I check out next? Recommendations please.

Depends on what kind of music you want.

Early Swans (say, Filth from '83 to Holy Money from '86) is incredibly slow, heavy, "sludgey" and brutal music. It's great, especially Filth, but usually nothing I would recommend anyone to start with.

Children of God is my favorite. It's still very heavy at times, but also has a softer, at times almost beautiful side. Fantastic in every way and a pretty good place to start.

Then you have their folk albums; The Burning World, White Light and Love of Life. White Light is the only one of them that is amazing, the other two are the weakest albums in their career.

Then you have The Great Annihilator which probably is their most accessible album. It's fantastic and has a bit of everything; slow and dark murder ballads, noise, more conventional "alt rock" and so on.

And finally you have Soundtracks For The Blind, which is simply mindblowing. Lots and lots of fantastic instrumental and ambient passages, noise, tape recordings and so on. While most Swans albums are very dark because of their lyrics, this is more about the sound of things and how they draw you in into it's twisted world. Don't expect any easy listening, but it's fantastic.

Disagree about "The Burning World" being their weakest, it's easily one of my favorites. I think "The Great Annihilator" is easily their weakest, although it is probably the easiest one to get into for a newbie.

Not sure what to make of this new one yet. Some of the songs feel oddly put together...like they'll be super heavy for parts and then when the vocals come in Gira's still doing folk songs, just folk songs surrounded by heavy parts. It's a bit disorienting.

I went to a similiar sized venue to see Earth and Richard Bishop and was turned away... £13 down the drain. So I'm kind of being wary here considering this show is £20 and they are less likely to let me in if I have to buy on the door.

sometimes worth calling in advance and asking - worked a few times for me when i was younger. and if they say no then you know you have to get a fake id from someewhere.

you can scan your passport and photshop it to change the date, then p[rint it out (in colour). say you brought a photocopy cause you didnt want to lose the real one. that usually works... and if you don't get in you can always sell yuour ticket to someone outside so you don't lose out on the $$$

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I think if kissing someone could make them pregnant
the last person I kissed would have had their kid by now...

oh also i think no jarboe in the new line up. i saw her play at inferno this year with attila czishar (sorree can't spell that). freaking weird and awesome. she was wearing some awesome fish scale dress too!

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I think if kissing someone could make them pregnant
the last person I kissed would have had their kid by now...

PSF: Would you ever consider reforming Swans?MG: Absolutely not, never. Dead and gone. I have more interesting things to do.

Really, Morrissey and Captain Beefheart are the only musicians who come to mind who said they'd never get back together with their old bands, and actually, y'know, haven't (which has nothing to do with band member deaths or, hell, even other band members not wanting to). Throbbing Gristle, Pixies, Polvo, Slint, Swervedriver, now Swans.... all reformed (well, I think Slint's done for again).. nuts. Hell, even Big Black and Man or Astroman played that show a few years ago.